Rich for Christmas

A Lotto prize worth £909,414 has been won by a couple from Colchester after they matched all six numbers to take a one-third share of the £2,728,242 jackpot for Wednesday 14 November.

Gerald and Eileen Strange are both in their early sixties and were already planning to retire in February. The win will not only make that retirement a lot more comfortable, it will also make this coming Christmas extra special. The couple intend to make it a Christmas to remember for their family, and in particular for their three grandchildren Danielle, Gemma and Liam.

Other plans for the money are currently being worked on. Gerald said that his wife has been talking about getting a new car for some time, so a brand new Audi or BMW may be on the cards in the near future. Gerald himself, who is a keen golfer, will be treating himself to new set of clubs.

Eileen has played the lottery since it was launched in November 1994. She has persisted with the same set of numbers (4, 5, 21, 35, 37 and 42) for thirteen years. The numbers were originally selected at random and have now proved that – in her case at the very least – persistence pays.

The winner didn’t find out about her win until Saturday 17 November when she went to her local garage to buy her tickets for the draw that evening. Gerald said that she was in shock when she got home and told him about her discovery.

Eileen was planning to take a shopping trip in New York with her daughter, and the Lotto win now means that they can explore luxury stores like Macy’s without worrying too much about price tags.

“We’re only now really starting to believe this has happened,” Eileen said. “It’s just wonderful.”